Pregnant woman loses baby after ambulance she was travelling in meets with accident in Thane

A 40-year-old pregnant woman lost her eight-month-old foetus after the ambulance she was being taken to the hospital in met with an accident near the Mulund toll naka on Sunday morning.

The woman, Tankila Ahmed, had been advised to visit JJ hospital in Mumbai’s Byculla by the doctors at Malegaon Civil Hospital earlier in the week due to her pre-existing heart condition.

The mishap took place around 7 am yesterday when the pregnant woman and her family members were travelling from Malegaon to Byculla in the ambulance.

Apart from the driver and Tankila, there were four other passengers in the ambulance. They were her husband Mushtaq (45), her mother Khalida Rashid (60), brother Aqeel Rashid (30) and nephew Mohammed Shadab (18).

According to officials, the driver, Shakur Rashid Baug (45), was driving very fast. Around 7 am, he rammed the vehicle into the divider at near Anand Nagar toll plaza on the Eastern Express Highway, causing the vehicle to turn overturn.

Following the incident, the fire brigade and police reached to the spot and evacuated the passengers. All of them were subsequently rushed to Rajawadi hospital.

While the rest of the occupants were in a stable condition, Tankila, was transferred to Sion Hospital in a critical condition. During treatment, a foetal scan revealed no movement or sound in her womb.

“We couldn’t save her baby. Her condition is critical and we are monitoring her minutely,” a senior doctor from the Sion Hospital was quoted saying. The dead foetus will be removed after her condition is stable.

The driver, meanwhile, was booked for rash driving and negligence causing grievous harm by Kopri police. He will be arrested once he is released from the hospital, where he is being treated for a fractured forearm.

Cops suspect that Shakur might have dozed off while driving due to continuous driving and possible sleep deprivation.